Lessons · Network switches · the software image
What the .bin file actually is
The image is the switch's operating system, and its name says the platform, the feature set and the version.
Hone is a place to practise programming. This is one of its lessons, written out in full and free to read without an account.
What it is for
Loading an image built for different hardware, or one whose feature set drops something you use, is how an upgrade becomes an outage. The name is the first check.
How to think about it
Read the name in three parts. c2960 is the platform, lanbasek9 is the feature set, 150-2.SE11 is the version. All three have to be right for the box in front of you.
Worked example
enableThe # prompt.
dir flash:c2960-lanbasek9-mz.150-2.SE11.bin: platform, feature set, version, in that order.
show versionWhat it is running now, and the configuration register at the bottom.
copy tftp://192.168.7.4/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.152-2.E9.bin flash:A newer version of the same platform and feature set. That is what makes it a safe upgrade rather than a gamble.
dir flash:Both are on the disk now, and the free figure has dropped. Two images means the box needs telling which to boot.
Your turn
Bring an image onto the switch from the server at 192.168.7.4.
copy ://192.168.7.4/c2960-lanbasek9-mz.152-2.E9.bin flash:
Console into a switch
The trap
Copying an image for a different platform. The transfer succeeds, the reload does not, and by then you are the person driving to the site.